


Twist of Fate - part 3 of 3

by awriterfandf



Series: Sailor Moon - an alternate reality [42]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Girls und Panzer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:07:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28780983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awriterfandf/pseuds/awriterfandf
Summary: Continued from part 2.
Series: Sailor Moon - an alternate reality [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095488





	Twist of Fate - part 3 of 3

**Twist of Fate - part 3 of 3**

**Chapter 23:**

Ninety minutes later...

Another pop song began playing over the speakers, and the members of Miho's Anglerfish team wasted no time inviting their new male acquaintances to dance with them again. Five happy girls escorted their young men into the crowd of couples already dancing, while Ooarai's new transfer students looked on.

Makoto chuckled, "Now I've seen everything. Minako-chan, if you keep this up, you'll have me believing you really are the world's greatest matchmaker."

"Of course I am, Mako-chan!" the blonde sitting beside her replied. "When Aino Minako puts her mind to something, _things happen!"_

"Dogs bark, ducks quack, people run away screaming in terror" Rei snickered. "You know... the usual stuff."

"Joke all you want, Rei-chan, but the proof is right there on the dance floor" Minako smugly retorted. "And this is only the beginning! Minna, I know deep down in my heart that those guys are our friends' future love interests. Just you wait and see!"

Ami finally stopped giggling at Rei's pun. "I must admit, Minako-chan, they do appear to make quite well-matched couples. I never would have imagined that a boy and a girl meeting for the first time would find themselves so compatible with one another, so comfortable with each other's company from that very first minute. It reminds me of when each of us first met our fiancees. And because it's occuring five times tonight, not just once, it must be more than mere coincidence. Don't you agree, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi frowned at her blue-haired friend. "They're _too_ comfortable, Ami-chan. I don't like watching Hana dance with my Mamo-chan! I don't like it at all!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Usagi-chan" Rei scoffed. "The guy Hana's dancing with isn't your Mamoru. He only looks a lot like him, and he's younger too. Stop being so jealous. Or paranoid. Or whatever that crazy brain of yours is imagining between those two odango."

"Fine! But I still don't like it" the blonde grumbled. "Minna, I think I drank too much tea tonight. I'm going to the bathroom."

"You _are?"_ the miko exclaimed in mock surprise. "I'll ask Momo to send out a press release about that right away!"

"Meanwhile, at the first table" Makoto grinned as Usagi stormed off muttering to herself, "it looks like all that wine is finally catching up to our esteemed Council President. She's falling asleep! I hope Anzu can shake it off before our match tomorrow." The brunette laughed, "At this rate, Momo and Yuzu will end up carrying her back to the bus. Hai, just another casuality of the infamous shore-party."

"Her Hetzer's gun is going to sound awfully loud tomorrow" Rei mused. "Regarding tomorrow, Mako-chan, how do you think things will go? These St. Gloriana girls seem as disciplined and as quick on their feet as they could possibly be. Do you think we stand a chance?"

"That's tough to say, Rei-chan" her commander replied with a shrug. "Honestly, I think we're going to need plenty of luck on our side. But stranger things have happened, so who knows?"

"Mako-chan, we _have_ to win! We _must_ win!" Minako insisted. "Remember the prize Anzu said we'd all get if we do? Two days off from school. Miko and her team needs that time to get to know their new boyfriends better, and officially become couples!" The bubbly blonde told her future sister-in-law, "That's phase two of my master plan!"

"Good grief! What's phase three? Five weddings on Tuesday afternoon? Minako-chan, you're really getting ahead of yourself tonight. It takes time for relationships to develop, for love to grow, for... why am I even telling you this? _You're_ supposed to be the expert!"

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared" Minako muttered.

Rei teased the blonde, "Planning on getting fitted for your bridesmaid's dress tomorrow, Minako-chan? Maybe you can take care of that important detail after our battle wraps up. I know! How about we just drive right over to the bridal shop in our Panzer! I'm sure they'll squeeze you in if Ami points the gun at their store. And if _that_ doesn't work, we can always fire a few rounds through their front window."

"Very funny, Rei-chan."

The song ended and their friends and their dance partners returned to the table, sitting close together as couples would and smiling happily.

Yukari's face was positively aglow with joy. "Thank you for dancing with me again, Ryoto-san. I really enjoyed it!"

"It was my pleasure, Akiyama-san." The teen who looked strikingly similar to Ami's fiancee smiled shyly at the girl he had merely dreamt of meeting two hours before. "I hope we can dance together again sometime... if you would like to."

"Hai! I'd love to!" the curly-haired girl smiled happily. "But please... call me Yukari from now on." Another song began playing, a slow dance this time, and the Anglerfish team's loader immediately offered the young man her hand. "How about now, Ryoto-san?" she giggled. "Are your feet getting tired yet?"

"Never!" Ryoto laughed. His voice softened. "Not when I'm with you, Yukari-san." They stood and walked back onto the dance floor together.

"Us too!" Saori exclaimed to the boy sitting beside her. "Let's slow dance" she urged. "Closer together this time. Much closer!"

"I'm game if you are, Yusei-san" Miho told her male companion with a warm, sweet smile that was somehow even brighter and happier than usual.

The other four couples promptly joined Yukari and her date, leaving Usagi's friends looking on in amusement. Rei lit her second cigarette of the evening, offering another to Ami who happily accepted.

"That didn't take long" Makoto observed, watching her new friends hold their boyfriends close as they gently swayed together in time with the romantic ballad. "Maybe there _is_ some real chemistry happening tonight, Minako-chan."

"Hai! Love is definitely in the air!" Minako bubbled. "Minna, I'm so _good_ at what I do best!"

Rei playfully continued teasing her friend. "What would that be, Minako-chan? Trying to rush people into serious relationships before the've even had a first proper date? When they come back, why don't you ask the girls what color they want your bridesmaid's dress to be? Maybe they'll all pick some hideous shade of orange that's just perfect for you."

Hearing Ami giggle at Rei's witty remark yet again, and having heard more than enough of the miko's unending supply of humor at her expense, Minako decided to go on the offensive. Knowing she couldn't possibly get the better of Rei or Makoto tonight, she instead turned her attention to the shy girl sitting across the table from her.

She watched Ami place her cigarette between her lips and drag deeply on it, brightening its tip's soft glow. The blue-haired girl slowly tilted her head back and closed her eyes, softly exhaling a white stream upward.

"You look like you're really enjoying your cigarette, Ami-chan. I wonder, did you ever smoke after dinner in a fancy restaurant, when Ryo took you there on an evening out on the town? I know how much you both love dining out together."

"Actually I did, Minako-chan" Ami innocently replied, smiling happily as she remembered the hours of unbridled passion she and her young lover had shared later that night in her bedroom.

"And did Ryo light your cigarette for you, like the perfect gentleman that he is?"

"Hai" Ami nodded, her cheeks beginning to blush. "He did."

Minako leaned closer to the girl. "Tell me, did you do that sexy thing where you tease him by blowing your smoke in his face? You know, the way girls always do to their lover boys in the movies, or in those steamy-hot romance novels you like to read?"

"Minako-chan, I don't think that kind of behaviour happens in real life, or at least not in public" Makoto chuckled. "Our shy Ami would never do something racy... like..." She stopped speaking as she watched Ami's blush instantly deepen to a vivid shade of red. "You did, didn't you?"

"Um... hai" Ami meekly admitted.

The blonde with the red bow in her hair closed in for the kill, smiling wickedly. "And... did it turn your lover boy on?"

Ami sat completely silent for several seconds before answering, her voice scarcely more than a whisper.

"...hai..."

"Ami, Ami, Ami! Whatever happened to that shy and modest bookworm we all once knew?" Minako giggled, "You really know how to flirt with your Ryo! Even _I'm_ impressed! Would you mind tutoring me on any other amorous techniques you happen to know? I promise I'll take lots of notes!"

" _Oh dear!"_ Ami quickly averted her eyes downward, staring at her nearly empty wine glass on the table.

Rei looked at Makoto, smiling and shaking her head. "It's always the quiet girls, Mako-chan."

The brunette grinned back, "Hai. Just when you think you really know someone.. _."_

_. . . . ._

With the party drawing to a close, Minako watched Miho and the girls on her team bid a very reluctant farewell to the five boys from Ooarai, sharing brief but tender hugs with them before boarding their bus.

"Minna, everyone make sure you have each other's phone numbers and texting address thingies" Minako reminded them. "After we beat St. Gloriana tomorrow, you can call each other and arrange to go out on proper dates! Since our ship isn't leaving port until Wednesday morning, you'll have two whole days to get to know each other a whole lot better!"

'Assuming we win' Makoto thought. She heard someone utter a faint groan and turned to find Anzu approaching the coach, being carried through the air with one arm draped over each of Momo's and Yuzu's shoulders, and her feet hovering well above the ground.

Yuzu asked, "Momo, how are we supposed to get her on the bus like this? We can't all fit through the door at the same time."

"Let me help" Makoto offered. She walked over to the trio, chuckling when she heard a random voice call out from inside the coach, " _Tie her to the roof!"_

The brunette slipped Anzu free of the other girls' shoulders, effortlessly picked up the teen in her arms and carried her aboard. She eased the Student Council President into the nearest window seat, propping the groggy girl against the glass. "Is that ok, Kadotani-san?"

Her eyes still closed, Anzu mumbled a barely coherent reply.

"Hai... ok... have a sticker..."

Makoto frowned, thinking 'I honestly thought we had a halfway decent chance at winning tomorrow... but now... with everyone on the Anglerfish team infatuated with their new boyfriends... and the commander of Turtle team ready to pass out at any moment... now I'm not so sure.'

. . . . .

**Chapter 24:**

Ami closed the cover of the Panzer operating manual she had been memorizing and placed it on her desk. Still dressed in her school fuku, she glanced at her bedside clock, surprised to find it was nearly one in the morning. The studious teen left her chair and was about to undress for bed when she heard the buzzer on her apartment door.

Puzzled, she walked up to the entrance, wondering who it could possibly be at such a late hour.

"Yes? Who is it?"

A familiar voice replied, "It's Minako, Ami-chan. I need to talk to you about something really important."

"Hai." Ami unlocked her door and swung it open. "Ohayou, Minako-chan. Please come in."

"Arigatou." The blonde who entered her apartment appeared deeply troubled. She waited for Ami to close the door, then told her close friend, her voice sincere and filled with regret, "I need to apologize, Ami-chan. I won't sleep a wink tonight until I do."

"Oh? Why?"

A frown formed on the girl's pretty face. "It's because of the horrible way I teased you at the shore party earlier tonight."

"Minako-chan, there's no need to-"

"But there is" her blonde friend insisted. "I made fun of you and embarrassed you in front of Rei and Mako-chan. That wasn't right. It's not who I am." She hung her head and said, "I'm very sorry and I hope you will forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you, Minako-chan!" Ami smiled. "And I can certainly understand why you teased me. You were only trying to do your best for Miho and Hana and our other new friends, and I guess Rei, being Rei, gave you a rather difficult time about it. So you became upset and..."

"And I picked on you. My most kind and most gentle friend in the whole world. Ami-chan, I promise I will never, ever, behave that way again. Moushiwake arimasen deshita."

Ami reached out her arms and gave the blonde a tender hug. "As I said, your apology is fully accepted. And deeply appreciated. Arigatou, Minako-chan."

Minako smiled and returned her hug. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu, Ami-chan."

A sudden second buzz from outside surprised both girls. "Goodness! What a busy night! Who could _that_ be?" Ami again went to answer the door. "Hai."

"It's Rei, Ami-chan. May I enter?"

"Certainly, Rei-chan." A few moments later the miko was also standing in the tiny apartment.

"Minako-chan, I'm glad you're here too. I tried buzzing your apartment but didn't get an answer, so I assumed you were asleep."

"Is something wrong, Rei-chan?" Ami asked. "Are you feeling ill?"

The miko shook her head. "I just left Usagi's apartment a minute ago. You both know how I've been giving her a difficult time ever since we got here. No, make that since... forever."

"Well, you have been somewhat critical of her at times" Ami agreed. "I suppose everyone's gotten so used to the way you tease her that we don't really think much of it anymore."

"Well, those days are over" Rei announced. "It took me far too long to realize I've been a poor friend to Usagi, and sometimes to you as well, Minako-chan. So I asked Usagi for her forgiveness, and now I'm asking you for yours. I promise to try very hard to always remain patient and keep my tongue in check from now on."

"Rei-chan, you are officially forgiven!" Minako beamed. "How couldn't I forgive you? We've all been through so much together, good times and bad times too."

"Hai. We certainly have" the raven-haired girl nodded. "And in a few hours, we'll all face another challenge together. But this time, I want us to face it as a true team of close friends. Friends who support and encourage each other in every way possible."

"Hai" Ami nodded. She smiled, "Let's do that."

. . . . .

At nine the next morning, Makoto and her teammates stood outside the tank hangar in their fresh new uniforms alongside the girls of Anglerfish, Turtle and Hippo teams. They listened closely as Miho gave everyone a brief pep talk.

"Minna, I hope everyone had a restful night! It's a beautiful day for our match against St. Gloriana, and this time I'm confident we're finally going to emerge as the victors!"

Makoto noticed that Mako was fully awake, and that Anzu seemed none the worse for wear after the previous night's wine incident.

Miho continued, ''My talk with your commanders last night gave me several new ideas about how best to knock out Darjeeling's Churchill, and soon we'll find out if they work. So, minna, climb into your tanks, follow my lead to the staging area, and let's all show St. Gloriana what the girls from Ooarai can _really_ do!"

An enthusiastic cheer rang out from the teams, and as they broke ranks and walked toward their tanks, Miho intercepted Minako. "I just wanted to say thanks for last night, Minako-san" she smiled. "I still don't know how you did it, but... you helped make us very happy."

"Just doing my job, Miho-san!" the blonde giggled. "I hope everything works out wonderfully between your team and their new boyfriends."

"Boyfriends? Hai, now that you mention it, I suppose they are!" Miho laughed. "My feet are still tender from all that dancing with Yusei!"

Her teammates walked over and thanked Minako as well. "You really _are_ the world's greatest matchmaker, Minako-san!" Yukari blurted, bowing deeply. "I can't wait to call Ryota after the match and arrange our first date!"

"I'm so happy for all of you" Minako smiled. "Minna, don't forget Mako-chan's good advice from dinner. Take it slow at first, trust your heart and let nature guide you."

"That wasn't exactly what I said, but it's close enough" Makoto chuckled from beside her Panzer. "Minako-chan, we need our driver. Go fire up the engine and let's get this show on the road."

. . . . .

The four tanks formed a line, with Miho's Panzer IV in front and Makoto's following. Behind her came Riko's STuG III with Anzu's Hetzer bringing up the rear, and all four commanders stood high up in their cupolas, taking in the scenery. Makoto spoke over her tank's intercom, "Erwin really loves that hat! Maybe I should get one too."

"That's fine, Mako-chan, as long as I don't have to salute you!" Usagi's giggling voice echoed back in her headphones.

"I wouldn't get a hat if I were you" Rei laughed. "You'll crush your ponytail!"

After making their way off the ship and through the seaport, the girls' tanks reached a main road that led to the staging area. As they rumbled along, Makoto was surprised to find the roadside lined with spectators, enthusiastically cheering them on.

"I feel like a celebrity!" the tall brunette exclaimed. "Ami-chan, Rei-chan, open your hatches and wave to the crowd." She waved as well, along with every other girl in Miho's other teams.

"I really like this!" Minako giggled from the driver's seat, soaking up the attention like a sponge. "Maybe later on, we'll have our own poster for our fans to sign, Mako-chan! If only my love muffin could see me now!" She added, "You know, this is just like the Sensha-do introduction movie we watched on our first day of school!"

As they neared the staging area, a large brass band and drum ensemble from St. Gloriana's music department began to play Ooarai's school theme song. "This is all quite spectacular!" Ami spoke above the music, then she recognized five familiar faces in the thickening crowd. "Minna, the Anglerfish team's boyfriends are here!"

Miho and her crew also spotted them and began waving at the teens, who were cheering wildly. Saori spotted the young man she had danced with and playfully blew him a kiss, making the boy blush and cheer even louder. Usagi's voice crackled over her radio, "Saori-san, if we win, be sure to give him a real kiss later!"

Saori promptly turned around in her hatch, leaned to one side and gave Usagi a big thumbs-up. She radioed back, "I won't be stopping at just _one_ kiss, Usagi-san!"

With Miho's Panzer still leading, the four tanks drove into the staging area and parked side-by-side in a neat line, just as the band finished their song. The drivers shut down their engines and the girls all climbed out, standing in groups in front of their vehicles.

"Now _that_ was an entrance I'll never forget!" Makoto grinned. After a brief period of silence, she next heard the sound of flutes as the band launched into the opening notes of 'The British Grenadiers'.

"Minna, our opponents are arriving" Miho told the Luna team, and soon, from a different road, Darjeeling's massive Churchill came rumbling into view, followed by three Matildas.

Minako's eyes widened at the sight of the lead tank. "That thing looks really tough, Mako-chan! It'll probably take a million shots to knock it out!"

"Hai" Makoto nodded. "That's what worries me."

. . . . .

**Chapter 25:**

St. Gloriana's four tanks passed twenty meters in front of Miho's waiting vehicles, slowing and pivoting in perfect unison until they stopped facing the Anglerfish team. Darjeeling gracefully lowered herself from her massive Churchill, joining Miho in the open center area. Both girls bowed respectfully to each other, then the host commander spoke.

"We meet again, Nishizumi-san" the blonde smiled. "On behalf of St. Gloriana Girls College and our Sensha-do teams, we congratulate you and your crews on your recent victory in the National Tournament. Your matches were most entertaining and well played. Very well indeed."

Miho bowed. "Arigatou gosaimasu."

"It was most unfortunate that we did not cross paths in battle during the finals. However, perhaps this day will prove to be an acceptable substitute for that lost opportunity." Darjeeling regarded the tank parked beside Miho's with its crescent moon logo and its accompanying new team standing in front. "I see you have brought another Panzer IV and fresh new faces to today's match. That is... somewhat surprising." She smiled, "Especially considering the unique stakes you are playing for this afternoon."

"Stakes?" Miho puzzled. "I don't understand."

"Oh? You are unaware of the agreement?" Darjeeling explained, "During last night's party, your Student Council President repeatedly insisted to me that your victory today was all but assured. Of course, I suggested that such confidence should be reinforced, that a wager was in order to make today's event even more, shall we say, stimulating."

The Ooarai team's commander glanced at Anzu, who looked back at her with a noncommital shrug.

"I guess she forgot to brief me about it" Miho frowned. "Would you mind telling me more about this wager?"

"But of course" the blonde smiled. "The bet is as follows... if you win, each member of your four participating teams will receive two week's supply of our finest English tea." The girl in the red jacket continued, "I am told your school has this rather odd ritual, the Anglerfish dance I believe it is called. If you should be defeated, your teams will again meet at this location after the match is complete, and perform it before my teams, as well as the spectators gathered here today. I must say, I am rather intrigued to witness it in person."

Behind the two commanders, Mako glared evilly at Anzu. "Was it _you_ who made this cruel bet, Kadotani-san? Or was it the wine talking?"

The Council President laughed, "I don't remember doing that! I really don't!"

Darjeeling and Makoto's group heard the other girls of the Oorai teams' horrified reaction to the news. Saori groaned, "Our new boyfriends are here watching us today! If they see us do that shameful dance, they'll never speak to us again! Our love lives will be ruined before they even start!"

Yukari muttered, "Someone's going to record it on their phone and post it on Youtube! We'll _never_ live that down!"

"It will bring lasting shame upon each and every one of us" Hana mourned. She suddenly gasped, " _What will I tell my mother?"_

"It appears there is rather more at stake today than I had first thought" Darjeeling spoke to the dumbfounded girl standing facing her. "Nonetheless, the hour for our match to begin is nearly upon us. As was agreed upon earlier, your teams will relocate to the nearby easternmost quarter of the battlefield, Miho-san, while mine shall occupy the western portion. Engagement will commence in fifteen minutes. And as always..." she smiled confidently, "may the best school prevail. Good luck."

The two teenage commanders bowed again and parted ways, with Miho returning to her unhappy crews.

Miho felt her girls' earlier confidence fast slipping away. "Minna, let's all stay positive!" she urged, though her heart sank at the thought of Yusei watching her deeply embarrass herself later on if things didn't work out as planned. She shrugged off the growing feeling of doubt and put on a brave face. "Remember, we came here expecting to win today, and I know we still can! Anzu's crazy bet with Darjeeling changes nothing."

"Except for the fact that we're outgunned, we're all terribly upset now, and worst of all, maybe we'll even scare away our new boyfriends when this is over, Miho" Saori sighed.

"Minna, have faith" Minako told them. "Your boyfriends aren't going anywhere except to be by your side and holding hands with you on your first date, crazy dance or no dance! Trust me, I know a thing or two about love, and those guys have fallen for you _hard!_ So let's win this thing and make them proud of you!"

But even Hippo team's cocky commander seemed to have lost much of her usual confidence. "If only we had a Jagdpanther" Erwin muttered above the sound of the St. Gloriana tanks' engines starting up. "History often repeats itself, and the time of our Waterloo is nearly at hand."

. . . . .

Makoto's team boarded her tank and took their seats, closing their hatches and donning their headphones. "Minako-chan, follow the command tank until we reach a branch in the road. She'll go right and we'll go left, ok?

"Got it, Mako-chan." The transfer students' Panzer trundled along behind Miho's tank until the two teams eventually split up, leaving the brunette's team running alone.

Makoto studied the colorful paper chart in her hand, then looked around. "According to the map, we're on the right trail" she confirmed. "I want us to reach our starting point in the trees at the top of hill fourteen with plenty of time to spare, Minako-chan, so don't spare the power."

"Have I _ever_ done that?" Minako giggled, jamming the accelerator pedal hard to the floor. The gasoline-fuelled fire burning within each cylinder of the Panzer's massive engine became a raging inferno and her tank obediently leapt ahead, trailing a hot cloud of smoke from its exhaust.

"Usagi-chan, pay close attention to your radio. Saori should be calling everyone with the St. Gloriana teams' position if they're able to spot them from the top of hill fifteen."

"I'm listening, Mako-chan. But it's really hard to hear anything with all that motor noise!"

Rei spoke on the intercom, "Just try your best, Usagi-chan. We'll win this match together."

Usagi turned in her seat and smiled happily up at the miko. "Hai! We will!"

"No sense in waiting, Rei-chan. Load our gun."

"Hai..." Rei spoke again a few seconds later, "Weapon loaded, Mako-chan."

Makoto braced herself against the back of the cupola as the ride became rougher, her tank bouncing across the rutted path as fast as it could go. She frowned, mentally crossing her fingers.

'I hope this plan works.'

. . . . .

A few minutes later, Miho's panzer slowed as it neared the crest of hill fifteen. "Mako, stop here please. And turn off the engine."

"Stopping now."

"Yukari, follow me." Feeling a strong sense of deja-vu, the brown-haired sixteen year old and her loader climbed down from their now-silent Panzer and hurried to the edge of the hill. Crouching low, Miho raised her binoculars and began scanning the large empty field that spread out below them, the trees that lay beyond it and the dense forest to both sides. She had positioned Anzu's Hetzer at the bottom of the hill to her right, while Riko's STuG sat on lower ground somewhere off to her left, between her tank and Makoto's Panzer on the adjacent hill.

Yukari checked her watch. "St. Gloriana's tanks should be underway now, Nishizumi-dono. But I still don't hear them."

"I don't see them either, Yukari" Miho replied. "That field is the best way to close with us, but not the only way. We both know that Darjeeling usually prefers to operate her tanks in tight formation to protect each other, so a different approach would make that a lot harder to do. She may have something else up her sleeve this time though. We'll give them two more minutes, and if they still aren't visible, we'll switch to Plan B."

"Hai!"

Ninety seconds later, a single tank appeared at the edge of the forest, creeping slowly forward.

"I see one, off to the left! It's a Matilda!" Yukari exclaimed. "But... there isn't anything else following it."

Miho studied the area behind the tank through her binoculars for a moment to confirm it was alone . "They aren't sticking to their usual tactics this time. That's very strange..."

. . . . .

"Anything yet, Usagi-chan?"

"The radio is silent, Mako-chan. No one's talking at all."

The brunette stuck her head out of the turret, looking and listening for the slightest sound. "Nothing" she muttered. "They can't be coming from the direction Miho hoped they would. So where are they?"

"This is so spooky!" Minako gasped. "They could be anywhere!"

"If they spot one of our teams before we see them, they will certainly get the first shot in" Ami pondered aloud. "We could lose a tank before we have any idea what's going on."

"I know, Ami-chan" Makoto replied over the intercom. "Being one tank down so soon will put us in a hole that'll be damned hard to climb out of. Usagi-chan, call Miho and ask her if we can move forward out of this cluster of trees we're sitting in and down into that huge field that's supposed to be ahead of us. Maybe we can force something to happen before this suspense kills everybody."

"Hai."

Usagi picked up her microphone and was about to thumb the transmit button on when she heard a frantic voice in her headphones. " _Mako-chan! Anzu is on the radio! Her Hetzer is under attack from two Matildas in the forest to her right! They're trying to pull back!"_

. . . . .

**Chapter 26:**

In the Hetzer, things were not going well for the Turtle team. The initial shot fired by one of the Matildas back in the dense forest had caught the girls completely by surprise, their attention too fixated on the clearing in front of them. The shell, fired from somewhere off the front right corner of their tank, came whoosing out from between the trees, grazing their front armor before imbedding itself deeply into the base of the nearby hill.

" _Yuzu, back up!"_

The School Council's vice-president pulled the shift lever into reverse and gunned her engine, clearing their parking spot moments before a second shell plowed into it, throwing clumps of wet dirt and sod across the front of their tank. "My window is blocked with mud!" Yuzu groaned. "I can't see anything!"

"You don't need to see!" Momo yelled. "We're going backwards!" She rested her finger on her loaded gun's trigger, but without a turret she had no way of accurately training her weapon on their attackers.

Anzu jammed down the button on her microphone, sending out a frantic distress call to the other teams as the pair of Matildas emerged from their hiding place, both turrets swinging to bring their guns to bear on the retreating Hetzer.

. . . . .

In the second Panzer IV, Makoto heard Usagi's urgent message and quickly studied her map. "There's no chance we can get all the way over there in time to help Anzu" the frustrated brunette muttered. "That big hill the Anglerfish team is sitting on would slow us down too much." She was tempted to try anyway, but another radio message, this time from Saori, changed her plan.

" _Mako-chan!"_ Usagi spoke breathlessly over the intercom, " _Miho's tank is going to assist Turtle team! There's a Matilda in a big field in front of us! Miho wants us to pair up with Hippo team and take it out!"_

"With pleasure" her commander answered in a low growl. "Minako-chan, take us to the edge of this hill! I want to see exactly where our target is before we kill it."

"Hai!" Minako jabbed the starter button and her Panzer soon crossed the last fifty meters of woodland blocking their view, halting near the steep downward slope of Hill 14.

"There you are..." the tall brunette smiled, spotting the lone Matilda in the distance, still trundling slowly towards the east from the far end of the field. She lowered her binoculars, feeling Ami slowly traverse the turret from left to right.

The turret stopped. "I have the Matilda in my sights" Ami calmly spoke. "It's still well out of range of our gun, Mako-chan."

Makoto then spied Erwin's STuG on her far right, charging out of the gap between the two hills and into the clearing. She watched the tank pick up speed as it roared onto the grassy field, heading directly towards the Matilda.

"Minako-chan! We need to assist Hippo team! Take us down there as quick as you can! _Panzer Vor!"_

"Hai!" The blonde in the driver's seat accelerated her Panzer so forcefully, it jumped a meter into the air as it leapt over the crest of the hill and came crashing back to earth on the hill's downward grade.

"Ow! I bumped my elbow!" Usagi groaned. "Minako-chan, our tank isn't supposed to fly!"

"It will if _I'm_ driving it" Minako laughed above the raucous bellow of an engine being pushed to its absolute limit. Her blue eyes gleamed with a lustful desire for even more power. "Do it, baby!" she urged her straining Panzer as it raced down the hill, the blonde pressing even harder on the already-floored accelerator pedal. "Go faster! _Faster_ _!_ Momma Minako wants _more!"_

Rei grinned at Ami. "Baby? _Momma Minako?_ Ami-chan, I think we know now what Taro hears in bed every night!"

The blue-haired girl to her left leaned closer to the miko, her cheeks blushing. "Hai! After _this_ battle is over" Ami giggled, "It'll be Minako-chan who really wants a cigarette!"

_. . . . ._

In the STuG, Erwin peered through her binocular scope at the solitary Matilda. "We're nearly close enough to unleash our fury upon the enemy. Do not deviate from our chosen path, Oryou."

"I will stay the course" her driver solemnly replied.

Inside the Matilda they were preparing to attack, the commander of the St. Gloriana tank calmly sipped her tea. "It seems we have our first guest of the afternoon" Nilgiri told her gunner. "Do prepare an appropriate welcome for them."

"With pleasure, Nilgiri-san." The Matilda's turret began to revolve, directing its 40 millimeter gun toward the rapidly approaching Ooarai STuG.

. . . . .

At Hill 15...

While Miho's tank sped to the aid of Anzu's beleaguered Hetzer, the twin Matildas split up. In the first tank, Commander Rukuriri ordered the driver to stop and instructed her gunner, who was carefully tracking the second Ooarai tank's progress, "Discharge your weapon the very instant Miho's Panzer reaches the bottom of the hill. We will allow them no opportunity to take aim at us."

The second Matilda relentlessly charged after the still-fleeing-in-reverse Hetzer, firing another round on the move that sailed just above the top armor plating of the lower-slung vehicle. Despite its lesser top speed, it slowly closed the gap between them due to the lower reversing speed of Turtle team's tank.

Anzu again dared to open the top hatch slightly and raise her eyes a few centimeters above its rim, peeking to the tank's rear. "Keep going, Yuzu! We're almost at the- _aahhh!"_

The Hetzer abruptly dropped away from beneath the Council President, leaving her floating in mid-air for an instant before she dropped back inside the hull. Her tank plummeted nearly three meters before striking the bottom of a steep-walled ditch it had driven into. Another massive jolt rattled the Hetzer and its crew as it crunched into the ditch's opposite vertical bank, completely stopping its retreat and stalling its engine.

Momo clambered back into her gunner's seat and straightened her half-glasses. "What happened, Anzu?"

 _"We fell in a hole!_ Yuzu, get us out of here! That Matilda will be on top of us any second now!"

Yuzu pressed the starter button, hearing her engine turn over but refuse to ignite. She tried again, frantically pumping the gas pedal for good measure but still without success. _"It won't start!"_

" _Keep trying!"_ Anzu hissed.

Anzu's worries about the approaching Matilda proved to be uncannily accurate. The gunner of the pursuing tank spoke from her scope, "Our quarry has disappeared from view. Rather odd..."

"Continue our pursuit" her commander ordered. "They must be descending a sharp grade."

Their driver did so until it was too late. Despite her quick reflexes, she did not brake early enough to stop the speeding Matilda from crossing over the edge of the suddenly-appearing ditch as well. An ear-splitting screech of metal-on-metal followed as the St. Gloriana tank came to an abrupt, grinding halt on top of the motionless Hetzer.

. . . . .

**Chapter 27:**

Makoto's Panzer reached the bottom of the hill and tore like a charging lion across the field toward the Matilda. "Ami-chan, shoot as soon as we're in range! Minako-chan, after our gun fires, start zig-zagging like your life depends on it! Rei-chan, reload as fast as you can after every shot!"

A chorus of "Hai!'' rang out in Makoto's headphones and the brunette lowered herself deeper into the turret, expecting return fire from the St. Gloriana at any moment. She was relieved to see that the Matilda's gun was still aiming at Erwin's STuG.

The commander of the Matilda told her crew, "A second tank is approaching from our right. We shall deal with it after we dispatch the STuG. Gunner, fire when ready."

Seconds later, the gun unleased its round with a loud blast, while at the same instant, the STuG returned fire.

Both shots narrowly missed, leaving deep craters in the ground close beside the two tanks.

In Hippo team's tank, Suzuki Takako opened the breech to reload, but the shell slipped from her grasp and rolled across the floor, out of the loader's reach. "Sumimasen Riko-san!" She hastily grabbed another shell from the rack, but Erwin knew there wasn't enough time to reload and fire before the two tanks met.

The Hippo team commander squeezed her throat microphone. "Our fate is sealed. _Minna, prepare to ram our enemy!"_

The other girls in her crew replied as one loud voice, joining Erwin's battle cry:

" _BANZAI!"_

From a tiny viewport in the Matilda's cupola, its commander couldn't believe her eyes, her fingers tightening around her teacup's handle. "They're actually trying to _collide_ with us! _Driver, accelerate now! Full power!"_

In Luna team's Panzer a heartbeat later, Ami squeezed her gun's trigger, hoping she had compensated enough for Minako's breakneck pace. The gun to her right recoiled, spewing flame and smoke from its short barrel and her shell blazed across the field, heading straight and true toward the base of the Matilda's turret.

The sudden burst of forward motion from the St. Gloriana tank caused the munition to miss its intended target, instead impacting the top of the Matilda's engine compartment. Oily black smoke poured from the gaping hole it left behind but the wounded vehicle stubbornly continued on. "We damaged them, Mako-chan, but their tank is still running!"

While Rei vigorously shoved another shell into the gun, Ami began to adjust her aim but was stunned to see Erwin's STuG suddenly appear in her viewfinder, charging suicidally at the Matilda. The Ooarai tank struck the rear of St. Gloriana's fleeing tank with a tremendous bang, flipping the STuG over on its right side where its still-spinning track gouged a long, deep furrow in the grass as it slid to an ungraceful halt. The Matilda spun hard to the left, throwing a track.

Makoto flung her hatch open and grasped the top ring of her cupola, pulling her head above the turret just in time to see a white flag pop up from the now-disabled enemy tank, joined a second later by another white flag that raised itself sideways, this time from the STuG.

Usagi confirmed the kill a few seconds later as Minako finally slowed their Panzer, its red-hot engine gasping for breath. "Erwin just reported their tank is out of action, Mako-chan! Everybody's ok, just a little shook up!"

"Arigatou, Usagi-chan." The brunette frowned, "Looks like it's three against three now."

. . . . .

Some distance away, Anzu tried to open her hatch only to have it strike against the bottom of the Matilda that was wedged so tightly on top of her Hetzer, it was almost as though it had been welded there. "Get off us, you... tea-swilling _perverts!"_

At that moment, Yuzu managed to coax her tank back to sputtering life, revving its engine to full power to ensure it wouldn't stall again. She was relieved to find that the mud covering her driver's viewing window had been knocked free.

" _Which way, Anzu?"_

"Turn ninety degrees left, then punch it!" Anzu yelled. "We'll climb out of this ditch and shake that Matilda off our back!"

. . . . .

Above the turret of her rapidly descending Panzer IV, Miho kept her eyes locked on the third waiting St. Gloriana Matilda. "Mako, just before we reach level ground, turn hard left and keep the pedal down until Hana tells you to stop!"

"Hai."

"Can you do it, Hana?"

The girl in the gunner's seat nodded. "I think so." She pulled the handle to traverse her gun to the right, turning it away from the St. Gloriana tank waiting for them, knowing exactly what her commander had in mind.

"Turning now" Mako calmly spoke, pulling back on her left control lever moments before the Matilda fired. A fountain of dirt appeared at the exact spot her Panzer would have occupied if they had continued straight on.

Hana watched the St. Gloriana tank reappear in her scope. "Mako stop now!"

"Hai." The teenage girl with the white band in her hair jammed on the brake, and Hana quickly corrected her aim and squeezed the trigger. The long-barreled gun thundered, sending its round straight at the lower right side of the reloading Matilda's hull, knocking off its track and temporarily stunning the crew inside.

In the Matilda, Yukuriri gasped, "I've... I've spilled my tea!"

"Yukari, reload!"

"Hai!... Gun is ready!"

Yukari's blazingly-fast reload time allowed Hana to send another round flying into the very same damaged area on the St. Gloriana tank seconds before they could return fire. Miho breathed a sigh of relief when she spied a white flag pop up from its turret. "They're out of action!" she told her crew. "That's two down and two to go!"

. . . . .

The Turtle team's Hetzer laboriously crawled up the slope and out of the ditch, weighed down by the Matilda still anchored upon it. Anzu told her driver, "Speed up as much as you can, Yuzu! We've got to get that tank off our-"

Her order was cut short as another shell burst through the trees and struck the Hetzer at its thinly-armored rear with tremendous force. The impact jarred the Matilda loose and killed Yuzu's engine yet again, this time for good. Another white flag sprag up from an Ooarai tank while the Matilda drove down the sloped rear armor of the Hetzer and retreated safely back into the forest.

Momo raged, " _I didn't get the chance to fire my gun! Not even once!"_

Anzu shrugged. "At least now we know where the Churchill is." The Council President reached for her radio microphone, finding it dangling from its cord.

_"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"_

_. . . . ._

Saori relayed the bad news to her commander. Upon hearing that Turtle team had been eliminated, Miho decided it would be foolhardy to take on a Churchill and a Matilda with just her Panzer. "Mako, take us to the field. We'll join up with Luna team and regroup."

Yukari asked, "What do you have in mind, Nishizumi-dono?"

Miho smiled at the brown-haired girl. "I'll let you know what our new plan is the moment we have one, Yukari."

. . . . .

"Mako-chan, Saori told us to wait for her tank at the treeline to our west. They're on their way over here."

"Hai. Arigatou, Usagi-chan." Makoto told her driver, "Minako-chan, take us into the edge of the forest in front of you, then turn our tank around so we're facing east."

" _More silly trees?"_ the blonde groaned, setting her Panzer IV in motion.

Makoto didn't reply. She thought, 'Two on two now... and one of the St. Gloriana tanks is that monster Churchill... this doesn't look good.'

. . . . .

**Chapter 28:**

The remaining two Ooarai tanks reunited just inside the thickly-forested area west of the open field, keeping well out of sight of the disabled Matilda and Erwin's partially-overturned STuG. Miho and Makoto climbed down from their Panzers to assess the grim situation they now faced.

"Makoto-san, I think our only hope is to somehow lure that last working Matilda away from Darjeeling's Churchill. It's the safest way to take it out and improve our odds."

"Hai" Makoto nodded. "If we gang up on it, we should be able to put it out of business with one shot each. But how can we trick it into leaving the Churchill?"

Miho pondered the difficult question, knowing they didn't have much time before the St. Gloriana tanks came hunting for them. "There is at least one thing still in our favor. Our Panzers are faster than either of Darjeeling's tanks." She laughed, "A _lot_ faster, with Mako and Minako driving them!" She happened to glance at the emblem on the turret of her idling tank and an idea began to take shape in the young Anglerfish commander's mind. "Makoto-san, how do you feel about your tank becoming an esca?"

"Nani? What's an esca, Miho-san?"

Miho pointed to her emblem. "It's that little round ball dangling in front of the anglerfish's eyes. They use it as a lure to attract their prey."

"And then they eat them" Makoto grinned wickedly. "I'm definitely in, Miho-san! What would you like us to do?"

. . . . .

It took but a minute for the two girls to work out the details for their risky course of action. They climbed into their Panzers and began briefing their teams, with Miho first instructing her driver to take them deeper into the forest. Mako started her tank's engine and the massive vehicle rumbled away.

In Luna team's tank, Makoto told her gunner, "Ami-chan, turn your turret so the gun points to the right, maybe... thirty degrees or so. And don't move it again until I give the word, no matter what happens. Even if someone shoots at us."

"Hai." The puzzled blue-haired girl pulled the control handle and the turret swung to match her commander's request. "Our gun is thirty degrees right, Mako-chan."

"Rei-chan, are we still loaded?"

"Loaded and ready to fire, Mako-chan."

"Minako-chan, take our tank back onto the big field, but keep us moving kinda slow. You're going to drive us past that dead Matilda, but not too close, fifty meters would be good. When we get near the middle of the field, hold our position but keep the engine running." She told the miko, "That's when you and I go outside and stand on the hull, Rei-chan." Makoto chuckled, "We'll soon find out how well we can act."

"Mako-chan, getting out of our tank in the middle of a battle sounds really dangerous!" Usagi fretted. "I don't want to see you or Rei getting hurt!"

"We won't be outside too long, Usagi-chan. A minute at most."

Rei asked, "Is Miho's tank joining us there?"

"Not yet. She's staying hidden in the woods for now. We'll be on our own for a while."

Ami pointed out, "We'll be very vulnerable in that situation, Mako-chan. Perhaps someone in the disabled Matilda may even see us sitting there completely exposed, and radio our activity to Darjeeling."

"I hope they do, Ami-chan!" Makoto grinned. "It's not really necessary but would maybe give us a little extra help."

Ami thought for a moment, putting the pieces together in her brilliant mind, then smiled. "Now I understand." She giggled, "That's a rather devious plan, Mako-chan."

"Hai, it is" the brunette chuckled. "Miho is calling it Operation Tea Time." She told her driver, "Everything depends on how convincing you can be, Minako-chan. We need to make the Matilda gradually chase us closer to a certain spot beside the forest, while not being too obvious about where we're leading them. And we have to try to stay just out of range of their gun, too. If they catch on, we'll be in big trouble."

She asked her team, "Minna, I know this all sounds a bit complicated, but we don't have any other good options left. Do you think we can do this?

 _"Of course_ we can do it, Mako-chan!" Minako insisted with a bright, confident smile. "We're all teenage girls, and at least in _this_ dimension, teenage girls can do or accomplish nearly anything they want!" She giggled, "Especially when they're sitting at the controls of a big, powerful Panzer!"

. . . . .

Less than a minute later, Luna team's Panzer IV trundled towards the middle of the field with Makoto standing in the turret with her binoculars to her eyes. She turned in place, repeatedly scanning all around her tank and seeing nothing except the two previously knocked-out tanks far in the distance.

"This is as good a place as any, Minako-chan. Stop us here."

The Panzer she commanded halted and Makoto climbed down onto the hull of the massive machine, followed soon after by Rei emerging from her side hatch. Both girls crouched beside the turret, pretending to examine its base closely, as though there was a problem with it. The brunette commander reached to her neck, activating her intercom. "Move it the way we planned, Ami-chan."

Her tank's turret began to swing left a degree or two, then right a few degrees in a jerky stop-start motion. After it had done so twice and stopped, Makoto and Rei continued their faux troubleshooting for a short time, then Makoto again called Ami and the blue-haired girl repeated the process. After the turret stopped moving again the brunette stood up, looked at her loader and shook her head.

"Do you think they'll take the bait, Mako-chan?" the miko asked as she continued to pretend she was examining the turret's mount.

"That much I'm not too sure about, Rei-chan. But I trust my senses, and they're telling me we're definitely being watched."

. . . . .

At the top of Hill 14, Darjeeling lowered her binoculars and gracefully descended into her Churchill's turret. "It appears that one of Ooarai's Panzers has developed a mechanical fault with their turret positioning mechanism" she told her crew. "However, it may also be nothing more than a clever ploy on the part of Miho." The St. Gloriana commander smiled. "She has become quite the proficient tactician and leader after such a brief time in command of her school's teams. The art of Sensha-do truly runs strong and deep within the Nishizumi bloodline."

"Is it Miho's tank that's having the fault, Darjeeling?" her gunner asked, her voice heavy with suspicion.

"No. It is the Panzer crewed by the new girls, Assam." Darjeeling sipped her tea. "Oddly enough, there appears to be entirely no sign of Miho's tank. And her new Luna team is sitting uncomfortably far from any protection that she, or the forest to our west, may grant them."

"It sounds like a rookie mistake to me" her loader spoke. "They're having trouble so they stopped in the field to see if it was fixable without paying any heed to the consequences."

"Perhaps..." Darjeeling mused. "In any event, a lone tank sitting on open ground does present us with a rather inviting opportunity, Orange Pekoe. If it were rendered inoperable without further loss to us, we would be all but assured an easy victory in today's match."

She frowned, weighing the consequences of the chess-like dilemma she faced before deciding, "I will dispatch our remaining Matilda to investigate. If it _is_ in fact a ruse, and the Panzer miraculously repairs itself and attempts to return fire, the Matilda will remain just beyond their gun's range until we join them. But if Miho's new team is indeed having mechanical issues, they will swiftly eliminate it from further play and today's battle will truly be ours for the taking. Minna, although I still harbour reservations, I believe this is an opportunity too promising to ignore."

She told her radio operator, "Contact the Matilda. Relay to its commander what we have discussed here, and instruct her to proceed with caution down Hill 14 and into the clearing. Our Churchill shall remain where it now rests until the truth reveals itself."

. . . . .

**Chapter 29:**

"Let's get back inside, Rei-chan" Makoto said. "We'll wait a minute or two to see if Darjeeling took the bait."

Rei nodded and climbed through the loader's hatch, pulling it closed behind her. Makoto mounted the turret of her Panzer and was dropping inside when a Matilda appeared near the bottom of the hill she had began the battle on. It was moving much slower than she had expected, maneuvering carefully to stay behind her tank's weapon.

The brunette ducked into the turret. "Minna, we've got company, but I don't think they trust our little act yet. Time to take things up a notch. Minako-chan, drive us north, but don't use more than half power for now. Ami-chan, leave the turret pointing just as it is. Let's see if we can make them think we really do have problems."

"Hai!" Minako gradually accelerated the Panzer, easing its gas pedal half way down. Makoto peered through the rear viewing slit, watching the Matilda seem to hesitate indecisively for several seconds, then abruptly charge towards her tank. "Looks like they bought our act, Rei-chan!" the brunette exclaimed. "Minako-chan, start zig-zagging, and keep your speed up!"

"I'm all over it, Mako-chan!"

The Panzer began gently swaying from side to side as it began alternating left and right turns. In the hull, Usagi looked back at the loader. She groaned, "This suspense is killing me, Rei-chan!"

The miko smiled, "Me too, Usagi-chan." She held up her right hand, her fingers crossed for luck.

Makoto focused her full attention on the Matilda's gun, watching it pivot towards her and raise its elevation slightly. "I think they'll be shooting at us any second now! Minako-chan, zig-zag harder!"

"Hai!" The blonde driver began working the control levers more vigorously, changing the Panzer's sway to sudden random side-to-side lurches.

A sharp crack from the Matilda's 40 millimeter main weapon was followed by an explosion of dirt at the front left of the retreating Panzer. "Way too close for comfort!" Makoto yelled. "More speed, Minako-chan!"

"Hai!"

. . . . .

Darjeeling watched the action unfold in the field through her binoculars. "The Panzer is making no attempt to rotate its turret or return fire" she told her team on her Churchill's intercom. "Perhaps they _are_ experiencing difficulties."

Her driver called back, "We're ready to move out at your command, Darjeeling. Just give the word and we'll soon pound that crippled Ooarai tank into submission!"

"Not quite yet" Darjeeling cautioned the eager girl. "As it is wisely said, haste makes waste." The St. Gloriana commander continued observing the two tanks play their cat-and-mouse game as the Matilda fired again, this time missing the Ooarai tank breathtakingly close on its right flank.

. . . . .

"Ok, Minako-chan, start a wide turn towards the forest!" Makoto ordered her blonde driver. "But keep well back of the treeline!" She watched the Matilda suddenly change direction. "They're trying to cut us off! Full power, Minako-chan! We need to keep farther out in front of them!"

"I've been waiting _forever_ for you to say that!" Minako giggled. She promptly jammed the accelerator pedal to the floor, squirting a torrent of fuel into her engine. The massive Panzer faithfully obeyed its young mistresses wish and leapt ahead.

Makoto watched the treeline inch closer. "Stop your turn now!"

The Ooarai tank soon reached its top speed, racing south and zig-zagging wildly as it ran parallel to the treeline just a hundred meters away, with the Matilda hot on its heels.

. . . . .

Back on the hill, the Churchill's driver stuck her head out of her hatch for a better view. "That Panzer is travelling far too fast to safely enter the forest, Darjeeling. I think they're running scared." She laughed coldly, "Typical Ooarai rookies!"

The girl beside her in the radio operator's seat laughed along with her. "Hai! Those frightened amateurs are nothing more than mere cannon fodder for us!"

Their commander again scanned the distant forest through her binoculars, still finding no trace of Miho's missing Panzer. She decided she had seen enough. "Take us down the hill" Darjeeling ordered. "Maximum power."

"Hai!" The massive Churchill rumbled over the crest of Hill 14, accelerating toward what its crew assumed to be an all-too-easy kill.

. . . . .

The brunette commander of Luna team's Panzer twisted herself around in the cupola, taking a few precious seconds to look ahead, desperately trying to find the place where the Ooarai girls would hopefully turn the tables on the brazen St. Gloriana Matilda. She spotted the landmark approaching in the distance, a cluster of several large boulders. "Usagi-chan, tell the Anglerfish team we'll reach Point A in... tell them thirty seconds!" Another round burst behind her tank, so close that for a moment, Makoto thought they had been hit. 'If we can make it that far' she thought grimly.

. . . . .

The relatively slow Churchill eventually reached the field, angling right to intercept Makoto's distant Panzer. At the same time, at the far end of a long, straight and narrow gap between the trees, Miho heard Saori's relayed message and mentally counted to five.

" _Now Mako! Panzer Vor!"_

Her driver raced her Panzer's engine until it screamed, then she quickly released the clutch. The Anglerfish tank spun both tracks for a moment, throwing long roostertails of dirt far behind, then lunged forward, viciously accelerating towards the field.

. . . . .

"Ami-chan, rotate your turret _now!_ " Makoto yelled. "It's payback time!"

" _Hai!"_

. . . . .

Still standing in the open with her shoulders above the Churchill's turret, Darjeeling was astonished to see the fleeing Panzer's short gun suddenly begin to swing rapidly to the rear, and an instant later Miho's tank blaze out of the forest, already running at its maximum speed. The long-barreled Panzer IV turned sharply left, lifting its inside track off the ground, and fell into line less than fifty meters behind the Matilda.

" _We've been had!_ " Darjeeling gasped. But before she could warn her other tank, the guns of both Panzers simultaneously fired.

Hana's round buried itself deep in the Matilda's left engine, destroying it with a loud bang, while Ami's shot struck her target dead center at the base of its turret, rendering the gun immobile. Both of the Matilda's tracks immediately locked, and a white flag popped from its turret even before the vanquished tank had skidded to a halt.

Both Ooarai tanks now turned right in unison, charging angrily toward the slow-moving Churchill. Still out of her effective gun range, Darjeeling immediately ordered her tank to retreat. "We can out-climb those Panzers" she spoke to her stunned crew. "There is a depression just beyond the hilltop. We shall make our final stand there." Remaining remarkably composed despite the shocking turn of events, she again calmly sipped her tea. "Well played, Nishizumi-san. Well played indeed."

. . . . .

Darjeeling's last command to her team proved to be a fatal mistake. As the Churchill reached Hill 14 and began climbing the steepening slope, her gun was no longer able to elevate enough to target the approaching Panzers. Miho and Makoto both stopped their tanks at two hundred meters, quickly sending a pair of accurately-placed rounds into the thick armor of the Churchill's turret. Rei and Yukari quickly reloaded, and two final rounds from Hana and Ami finished the deed. The Churchill ground to a halt partway up the hill, and its white flag of surrender signalled the end of the match.

. . . . .

The girls from Ooarai leapt from their tanks, joyfully hugging each other. "We did it!" Yukari blurted. "We beat St. Gloriana!"

Usagi hugged the other tank's radio operator. "Remember, Saori-san, you owe that boyfriend of yours a big kiss now!"

"Hai! I think we'll all be kissing our boys before tomorrow is over, Usagi-san!" she laughed. "I can't wait!"

Miho and Makoto also exchanged hugs. "Makoto-san, you have the makings of an excellent tank commander! Wait, I take that back! You already _are_ an excellent tank commander!"

Makoto smiled at the brown-haired girl. "Arigatou, Miho-san. If I really am any good at Sensha-do, it's only because I learned from the best."

. . . . .

**Chapter 30:**

Late that afternoon:

Usagi and her friends met at Rei's apartment before going to their planned celebration dinner. "Minna, before we meet Miho and her team at the restaurant, there's something I think we need to talk about."

"But I'm hungry, Rei-chan!" Usagi grumbled. "Can't it wait until later?"

"It's kind of important, Usagi-chan" the miko insisted. "It'll only take a minute."

"Fine. What's it about?"

"Now that we've been here a week, and helped Miho win that match against St. Gloriana, I'm wondering how much longer it will be before you, I mean the _future_ you" she corrected herself, "brings us home. We really shouldn't leave without somehow saying goodbye to Miho, and telling her that we couldn't stay here forever."

"I was thinking about that too, Rei-chan" Ami agreed. "It wouldn't be fair to her or the other girls on her team if we simply vanished without a trace one day."

"Maybe we could write her a note or a letter or something" Minako suggested. "But when should we give it to her? It'd be silly to tell her we're leaving and then find out we end up staying here a lot longer."

"How about we leave the letter in our Panzer?" Makoto mused. "She'd be bound to find it there eventually."

"That's plausible, Mako-chan" Ami nodded. "It isn't an ideal situation, but certainly better than nothing. The question then is... what would we write? We certainly can't say we're Sailor Senshi from another dimension, and were sent here by Usagi after she becomes our Queen. Miho would think we were all utterly insane."

"Let's all sleep on it tonight, and get together tomorrow morning to work out the details" Rei said. She smiled, "Since we're excused from classes until Wednesday, Miho and the girls have other things on their minds at the moment. We probably won't see them for a while after tonight because they'll be busy going out on dates with their new boyfriends."

"All thanks to me!" Minako boasted. "The world's greatest-"

Makoto sighed, "Hai, the world's greatest matchmaker. You're never going to stop talking about it, are you?"

"Maybe in a few years!" the blonde giggled. "Or maybe never! Minna, I'm going to miss being a student here at Ooarai. And most of all, I'm really going to miss Sensha-do, and all the new friends we made."

"I think we all will" the brunette agreed. "It was the most fun _I've_ ever had in school." She pondered, "I wonder what will happen to our Panzer? I guess some other girls will come along sooner or later and take our place."

"My car will feel like a child's plastic toy after driving our big powerful tank" Minako sighed wistfully. "It's too bad we can't take it with us when we go."

"Wouldn't that turn a few heads!" Rei chuckled. "Driving around Tokyo in a real, fully-armed Panzer IV! And while we're at it, we could do it after we henshin into our Sailor Senshi forms! You know, for maximum effect."

"That'd scare away Beryl's youma if there were any left to worry about, Rei-chan!" Usagi laughed. She rubbed her rumbling tummy, "But enough daydreaming, let's go have dinner. I'm starving!"

. . . . .

The five teens walked two blocks to the restaurant Miho had recommended, finding the Anglerfish girls waiting for them at the door. Miho and her teammates greeted them with bows and bright smiles.

"Minna, ohayou! Usagi-san, you're going to love this place. The food is pretty good, and it has everything you can possibly think of on the menu!"

 _"It does_ _?_ Then that's what I'll order for dinner, Miho-san" Usagi grinned. "Everything!"

"Some things never change" Makoto chuckled. They went inside and found a quiet table large enough for all ten teens, and soon were enjoying a well-earned victory dinner together, with the Anglerfish team on one side of the table and the Luna team sitting across from them.

After a waitress delivered their orders, Miho raised her glass. "Minna, a toast! To all the Sensha-do girls from Ooarai, and to our big win over St. Gloriana!"

" _Kanpai!"_ her friends cheered, sipping their wine.

. . . . .

As they finished their meal, Yukari shyly asked, "Minako-sensei, I'd really appreciate it if you could give me some personal advice." The brown-haired girl blushed, "It's about boys and relationships and... you know... stuff like that."

"I'd be more than happy to, Yukari-san!" Minako beamed, enjoying the new honorific Yukari had given her, and ignoring the faint groan from the brunette sitting to her right. "How can I help?"

"Well... last night was the very first time I've danced with a boy before, and tomorrow may be our first kiss. I don't know what to expect, and... I'm a little nervous."

"Nervous? Don't be nervous" Minako replied with a reassuring smile. "Not at all!" The other Anglerfish girls listened intently as Minako launched into yet another of her infamous lectures on all things love and romance-related. "You really like Ryoto, don't you?"

"Hai! I do!" Yukari smiled happily. "I loved every minute we were together at the party, and I want to see him again every chance I get!"

"Here comes Phase Two" Makoto murmured to Rei as her future sister-in-law continued on.

"Of course you do, Yukari-san! And everyone can plainly see how much he likes you" Minako said to her. "And this applies to you other girls too!" she told the teens across the table. "When a girl and a boy feel so strongly towards each other, a kiss is how you show that you're in each other's hearts. The way you kiss him reveals more than words ever could. I remember the first time I kissed my Taro. I could feel the love, _taste_ the love he had for me on his lips. It was wonderful! And I know you and Ryoto will feel the very same way when you share your first kiss tomorrow."

"Hontou ni?"

"Hai. Really!" Minako nodded briskly.

"Just don't try to suck his face off like Minako did to Taro that New Year's Eve when she kissed him the first time" Makoto chuckled. "Poor guy!"

"I wasn't _that_ bad, silly! Anyway, that first kiss is just the beginning! As the days go by and your love grows, you become soulmates, and eventually, lovers."

" _Lovers?"_ Yukari's face was aglow with joy at the thought. " _Me?_ And _Ryota?"_

"Hai! Just like Ami and her Ryo. You know, Yukari-san, Ryo and your boyfriend are so much alike, it's scary! I bet Ami knows how fantastic things will get when you reach _that_ stage, don't you Ami-chan?"

"Um... hai. I do" the blue-haired girl admitted, blushing red. "This is rather embarrassing, Minako-chan!"

"Don't be silly, Ami-chan! You're just being your usual shy self again. There's nothing embarrassing about true love, or all the pleasures that go with it." Minako pressed on, "It's the warmest, most wonderful, most breathtakingly incredible thing you'll ever experience, Yukari-san. And you will, I promise! And your friends and their guys will too! Trust me, I know about these things."

"And now we're at Phase Three" Makoto snickered. "Minako-chan, slow it down a little. Yukari was only asking about her first kiss, not about her and her boy running off to have wild passionate weekends together!"

"She wasn't?" Minako giggled. "Should I change the subject?"

" _No!"_ The Anglerfish team girls chorused.

Miho quietly spoke, "Um... about these 'wild weekends' you mentioned..."

Minako's impromptu lecture continued. "Your boyfriend Yusei is just like Mako-chan's Yuji, Miho-san. When you get to _that_ point in your relationship, and it'll happen a lot sooner than you think, _well!_ Let's just say, you'll finally learn the true meaning of the word ecstasy!" She nudged the brunette seated beside her, "Am I right, Mako-chan?"

Despite her best attempt to ignore Minako's personal question, a smile appeared on Makoto's face. "Hai. You're absolutely right, Minako-chan. One hundred percent right, as a matter of fact."

Miho's cheeks began to flush red. "It's... uh... getting really warm in here again. Maybe they can open a window or something..."

Rei pretended to call for an attendant. "Waitress! A bucket of cold water at this table, please." Beside her, Usagi started giggling uncontrollably.

The other three Anglerfish girls shared glances at one another. "I like the sound of this!" Saori exclaimed. "Minna, let's hear more!"

Minako continued, "Hai, and your first kiss is nothing at all compared to your first night together. The sweet, tender intimacy between girl and boy, the hot passion, the pleasure that floods your whole body from head to toe! It's nearly indescribable!"

"Ohh..." Miho breathed softly. "I can't possibly imagine... um, minna, does anyone have a cigarette?"

Ami reached for her purse. "Please have one of mine, Miho-san."

Rei smiled at her brown-haired friend, "I thought you mentioned that you only smoke on special occasions, Miho-san."

Miho's deep blush now rivalled Ami's best. "Hai... uh... well, this _is_ a special occasion, Rei-san! I'm... um...celebrating our teams' win in today's battle against Ooarai!"

"Don't you mean against St. Gloriana, Miho?" Mako reminded her. " _We're_ Ooarai."

"We are? Hai! We are! That's what I meant to say!"

"And on _that_ subject, if you think you enjoy an after-dinner cigarette now, Miho-san" Minako prattled on without thinking, "just wait until you have one after you and your lover boy make sweet, beautiful love-love together! That first long, deep drag feels heavenly!"

"Oh? What's _this_ I'm hearing?" Ami asked in surprise as she opened the pack she had bought on the way to the restaurant and offered a cigarette to Miho. "How could you possibly know anything about that topic, Minako-chan? You don't smoke."

"I... oops!" The blonde's cheeks reddened. "I... uh... I know about it... because of... reasons, ok?"

"There's more to this story, and I want to hear it right now!" Rei insisted. She glared at the blonde. "Spill it, Minako-chan!"

"I... ok, ok! I smoke too!" Minako confessed with a giggle. "I was just speaking from experience, Rei-chan, because there were a few occasions when my parents were away for the weekend, so my honey muffin stayed over at my house, and I just _had_ to have one after we-"

"You little _hypocrite!"_ Rei scoffed. "After all those times you teased Ami about her smoking, and now we find out that you've been hiding the fact that you do it too!"

"Sumimasen, Ami-chan!"

Ami smiled sweetly at the blonde. "I still forgive you, Minako-chan."

Makoto slowly shook her head, chuckling, "Now I really _have_ heard everything!"

. . . . .

**Chapter 31:**

"Minna, regarding your new boyfriends, just remember not to rush things too much" Makoto told the girls across the table from her. "I don't profess to be a love expert, or a matchmaker either. But I know that a lasting relationship is formed on not only affection or physical attraction, but on mutual trust and respect for each other. And that usually doesn't develop overnight."

"I think I understand now, Makoto-san" Yukari nodded. "All those other fun things Minako talked about will come later, after we know in our hearts that we really did find our true soulmates."

"That's exactly it, Yukari-san. But I do have to agree with Minako on one thing" Makoto admitted. "I believe that in the end, those boys you met last night will turn out to be your life-long loves." The tall brunette smiled, "I hope each of you are just as happy as we are with our guys."

As the teens chatted, Makoto noticed that Minako's mood had begun to change and the usually bubbly-bright girl had become quieter as time passed, scarcely saying a word.

Hana asked the brunette, "Makoto-san, how did _you_ meet your boyfriend? Was he in your class at land school?"

"He lives outside of Nerima, about an hour's drive from the center of Tokyo, Hana-san. I was lucky enough to inherit an old house not far from his home when my great-aunt passed away, and I met him when we all were out on a walk, exploring the countryside the weekend I took possession of the place. It didn't take long for me to realize he was my soulmate, the only boy I could or will ever truly love." She smiled, "To tell the truth, we were in love from that very first moment we met."

"That sounds just like the happy ending to a fairy tale!" Hana exclaimed. "What an odd twist of fate to find him that way."

"Fate?" Usagi chimed in. "It was her _destiny_ , Hana-san. And Mako-chan and Minako are right. That nice cute Masaru boy is _your_ destiny. I know he is."

"I hope so, Usagi-san" Hana smiled happily. "I really do like him."

. . . . .

After dinner, the group of girls decided to go for an evening walk together. As nighttime neared, they found themselves nearing one of the ship's curved viewing areas suspended high above the ocean. In the distance a waning crescent moon hung low in an indigo sky, shining its amber rays down through the cool late-evening sea air and highlighting a carpet of white-crested rippling waves that stretched far beyond the horizon.

The teens sat together on a pair of long covered benches nearby, happily chatting amongst themselves about boyfriends and school and Sensha-do until night crept in and stars began appearing in the sky above.

"The sea is such a romantic place" Minako suddenly murmured, gazing out into the emptiness beyond their ship. "I wish my Taro could be beside me now, holding me so softly and tenderly in his arms." She abruptly stood, asked Ami for one of her cigarettes and walked over to the platform's curved railing to stand facing the sea, silent and alone.

"Minako is really missing her boyfriend tonight" Miho softly spoke, thinking of her Boko bears and the small measure of comfort they had given her at times like this.

"Hai, she is" Rei agreed. "Now that our classes and Sensha-do training are on hold for a couple of days, she has a lot more time to think about the boy waiting for her at home. Minako is feeling a little down, and I completely understand why. Being apart from each other for long periods of time is one of the few disadvantages of a close relationship, Miho-san. I hope you and Yusei will always find a way to make these school-ship separations more tolerable."

"Hai. I do too."

Standing at the rail, Minako dragged hard on her cigarette and inhaled deeply, coaxing a moment of pleasure from it amid the loneliness that now tugged ever stronger on her yearning young heart. The pretty girl's blue eyes mirrored the twinkling reflection of a thousand stars above, but in her mind she saw none of them, only the smiling, handsome face of her beloved Taro.

. . . . .

With Usagi and her friends having wished the Anglerfish team girls the best of luck on their dates the next day, they decided to call it an early night. Returning to her apartment, Usagi took time to make herself a final bedtime snack from her nearly empty kitchen cupboard. 'Looks like I'll be going grocery shopping tomorrow' she thought as she prepared a sandwich, then realized, 'That could be a problem. I've been binging on so much junk food lately, I'm nearly out of money!'

She took her snack to the study desk, pushing several school textbooks to one side. In between bites, Usagi softly hummed the Snow March song she had heard on the bus the day before, while idly leafing through the pages of her Panzer operating guide.

Hanging her school fuku in its closet, the blonde showered, fixed her hair then slipped into bed, and the excitement and thrills of her busy day at the Sensha-do match soon caught up with her. It wasn't long until fatigue and the comfortable mattress Usagi lay upon lulled the odango-haired sixteen-year-old into a deep, restful sleep.

. . . . .

"Are you planning on staying here all night, Taro-chan?"

Yuji's brother nodded. "Hai, I am. We have no way of knowing when our girls will come back to us, but... I honestly can't bear to leave Makoto's house tonight."

"I'm staying too." The younger Ito boy smiled, "It's a good thing there's a school holiday tomorrow. I don't think any of us would be paying much attention in class. Well..." he grinned, "maybe Ryo would."

Sitting beside the Ito boys outdoors on the front step of Makoto's old house, Urawa Ryo smiled at his close friend as the setting sun began to dip below the western horizon. "I wouldn't be paying much attention either, Yuji-chan. All I can think of is my Ami, and how deeply I miss her."

Rei's fiancee left the kitchen and sat beside Ami's fiancee. "Those details are taken care of" Yuuichirou told his friends. "At least for a while. I managed to call another apprentice and he offered to cover for Rei and me at the shrine tomorrow morning, and Hino-sensei won't be expecting us back until later tomorrow night."

"What will you tell Rei's grandfather if our girls haven't returned by then, Yuuichirou-chan?" Ryo asked.

The young Shinto apprentice shrugged. "I should tell him what's really going on, I guess, but I don't want to cause the old guy any extra worry about Rei." He chuckled, "I'm doing more than enough of that for the both of us."

Setsuna and Haruka left the house a few minutes later. "We'll be returning to Tokyo for the night" Setsuna had told the boys. "There isn't anything else I can do here at the moment, but please phone me if your situation changes." Before turning away, she told them, "Minna, I know how stressful you're all finding this, but do try to get some rest tonight. I should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"We're leaving those Girls und Panzer videos and the tv here in case you'd like to watch them again" Haruka added. "See you guys tomorrow." The two older girls climbed into Haruka's yellow Ferrari and drove away.

. . . . .

Not long after, Usagi awoke from her deep slumber and slightly eased open one eye. 'Why is it so bright in here? Did I fall asleep with the light on?' Muttering to herself, she opened her eyes wide and began sitting up. " _Nani?"_ She gasped as the realization struck that she was now laying beneath a blanket on the sofa in the empty living room of Makoto's old house.

Usagi took a deep breath and yelled as loudly as she could:

" _Minna! We're back!"_

. . . . .

**Chapter 32:**

Usagi had hoped her loud yell would wake the girls she assumed were now sleeping upstairs in ther rooms, but she was surprised to first hear a sudden commotion outside the front door. The door burst open and four teenage boys bolted into the living room.

"Usagi-chan, you're safely home!" Taro blurted. "That's wonderful! Where is my Minako and the other girls? Are they here too?"

A stampede of footsteps echoing from above answered his question, and the boys' fiancees appeared at the top of the stairs, still hastily tying their robes.

 _"My honey muffin!"_ Minako gasped with delight. She repeated the action she had done the first night she had met her Taro, hopping on the curved stair railing and sliding down it, only this time she was met at the bottom by her love's waiting arms. She fell into his warm embrace, kissing her fiancee passionately, while the other three girls quickly hurried downstairs and were also welcomed by their young lovers with tender hugs and deep kisses.

Usagi giggled as she watched her friends kiss their boys, each girl moaning softly, their lips pressed hungrily against those of their fiancees, their tongues gently caressing those of their partners. "Love is such a beautiful thing!" she sighed. "Oh! I'd better put some clothes on!" Usagi reached for her nearby robe and quickly slipped it on beneath her blanket.

Eventually the kisses ended but the happy couples' bodies remained pressed snugly together. Yuuichirou whispered, "My beautiful Rei, how I longed for this moment."

"I missed you so, my Yuuichirou" the raven-haired girl whispered back. "So very, _very_ much."

. . . . .

A few minutes later the couples sat together on the long sofa beneath the staircase, with Usagi thoughtfully piling her blanket and pillow to one side and moving to a chair beside the fireplace. The blonde pointed at the coffee table. "Mako-chan, you have a tv set now? And a videotape player thing too? When did you get them?"

Makoto regarded the devices from the sofa where she sat with her Yuji's arm snugly around her. "I have no idea, Usagi-chan. They certainly weren't there when we left a week ago."

Yuji volunteered, "Haruka rented them, my love, so Setsuna could show us a series of... wait, did you just say a _week_ ago?"

"Hai. That's how long we were gone, Yuji honey. Wasn't it?'

"You and the other girls disappeared early this morning. It's still Sunday!"

"Now that's strange." Makoto insisted, "I'm sure we were away for a whole week."

Ami spoke from the end of the sofa where she sat close beside her Ryo. "Our future Usagi must have somehow brought us back in time when she returned us home, Mako-chan. An entire week passed for us, but less than a day elapsed for our boys here in our dimension."

"Minna, isn't that the wildest thing?" Minako giggled from her Taro's lap at the other end of the sofa. "But enough about silly tv sets and dimensions!" She smiled brightly, "Sugar muffin, you'll never guess where we were!"

Yuuichirou asked his friend, "May I, Taro-chan?"

"Of course, Yuuichirou-chan" Minako's fiancee chuckled. "You can tell them."

Rei laughed, "You're playing detective again, aren't you lover? Well, this is one case you'll _never_ crack, Sherlock."

"No? How about this?" Yuuichirou smiled, "You and the girls spent your last week attending a new girls' school. The school is actually on a giant ship, and the school's name is Ooarai Girls Academy. How am I doing so far?"

The stunned miko stared at him, her female friends left speechless by the Shinto apprentice's correct reply. " Yuuichirou-chan, _how on earth_ did you manage to figure that out?"

Her love continued, wearing a smug grin, "And at that school, they have classes in something called Sensha-do. They compete against other girls-schools-on-ships in a sport that involves old army tanks."

Rei was nearly beyond words. "How... you couldn't... _this is impossible!"_

"Am I right, my darling?"

"Hai, you're absolutely right" Rei muttered. "Tell me, how did you know?"

"There's an anime that exists in another dimension called Girls und Panzer" her boy explained. "Setsuna used her Time Gate to discover that in the dimension where you were sent, that anime was actually happening in real life. She was able to capture all twelve episodes of the anime on tape and brought them here." Yuuichirou chuckled, "We watched them all, twice!"

Taro gently kissed his future bride's cheek. "Going to a different school is one thing, even in another dimension, but I'm so relieved that you and the girls didn't get involved in that dangerous sport, Minako my sweet. What I'd really love to know is did you actually meet Nishizumi Miho in person? Did you see the tanks? Did you watch them actually shoot at each other?"

Minako giggled, "We did, love muffin! We definitely did all those things! Because we were in the Sensha-do class too, and even had our very own Panzer!"

"I. _.. I don't believe it!"_ her young man gasped.

"Hai, it's true! We were Luna team, and even helped Miho win a practice match against St. Gloriana! I _loved_ driving my Panzer!"

Taro's voice went up in pitch. "You were the _driver? Of a real tank?"_

"Hai!" she giggled again. _"_ A Panzer IV to be precise! Just like Miho's tank, but ours had a short-barrel gun."

"Minako drove the _hell_ out of that poor Panzer" Makoto chuckled. "And I'm glad she did."

The other boys stared at their girls in disbelief. "Ami-chan, is this true? Honestly?"

"It is, my Ryo-kun" the blue-haired girl smiled reassuringly. "It's all completely factual. Miho is a sweet, wonderful sixteen-year-old girl, and an extremely competent tank commander as well. Several days before we arrived at Ooarai, she led her teams to an important high school championship win."

Ryo grinned. "Hai. It was covered in the last episodes of the series we watched. So... how were _you_ involved in Sensha-do, my love?"

Usagi piped up from her chair, "Ami was our gunner, Ryo-chan. And a really excellent one too! Rei was our loader, I was radio operator and Mako-chan was our commander."

" _This is incredible!"_ Yuji blurted. "Mako darling, you actually commanded a real tank? In battle? _With live ammunition?"_

"Hai, I did. It was a lot of fun, Yuji honey. I really enjoyed it." Makoto asked, "If nobody minds, I'd love to watch one of those taped anime episodes you have."

"Coming right up, Mako-chan." Yuuichirou promptly grabbed the second tape, rewound it and pressed play. "Minna, this should be episode four, where Ooarai has their first practice match against St. Gloriana. From what I've heard, this must've happened a few weeks or so before you turned up at Ooarai."

Usagi pulled her chair closer to the television and the teens quietly viewed the animated action unfold onscreen. Tears began to form in the girls' eyes as they watched anime versions of their new friends battle against Darjeeling and her tanks.

"I'm _so_ going to miss Miho and the Ooarai girls" Minako sniffled, wiping a tear from her cheek. "They all became so close to us, so quickly. But now... now it's only just a memory. And we weren't even able to say goodbye."

. . . . .

A short while later, Yuuichirou turned off the video. "Minna, there's still eleven more episodes to go. I'll ask Setsuna to keep the tapes for us to watch whenever we like. I think she'll agree." He stood and excused himself, remembering to call Setsuna and tell her the girls were safely home. After he had left to use the phone in the kitchen, Rei walked over to Usagi.

"When we first woke up in that strange dimension, I assumed your sending us there was nothing more than a horrible mistake. I was totally wrong. I'm glad we experienced that week at Ooarai. Arigatou, Usagi-chan."

"I'm glad we did too, Rei-chan." Usagi got out of her chair and the two girls shared a tender hug.

. . . . .

As the evening progressed, the girls told their increasingly-astonished fiancees more about their time at Ooarai, eventually describing in detail the final battle against St. Gloriana.

"Even though I was having so much fun, I was still always thinking about you, sugar plum" Minako said. "You were in my thoughts and in my heart every minute of every day."

"Minako got really emotional near the end, Taro-chan" Rei told the boy. "She was missing you so much on our last night, she ended up at the ship's railing, pining for you while she stood there smoking and staring out at the ocean."

Taro's eyebrows raised. "You told the girls about your little secret pleasure, Minako honey? I thought you were hiding it from everyone."

"Hai" the blonde in his lap giggled. "They found out!"

"How?"

"When we asked her" Rei chuckled. "I'd be surprised that girl of yours could keep _any_ secret very long, Taro-chan."

"Well it isn't a secret anymore, love muffin" Minako smiled at her boy. "The cat's out of the box now."

Makoto groaned, "The bag, Minako-chan. The bag."

"Nani? The bag is out of the box? That doesn't make any sense, Mako-chan."

"I give up" the brunette sighed.

"Mako-chan, you should let Ami and Rei and me smoke in your house" Minako urged the brunette. "You know, on those rainy or snowy days when it's too cold or wet to stand outside after a nice dinner."

"I never said you couldn't, Minako-chan. As long as you don't smoke in the kitchen, be my guest." Makoto chuckled, "Though I dont think rainy days are the problem, from what you told us at that restaurant. It's the nights you're a lot more interested in."

"The blonde giggled again. "Hai, especially the love-love nights! Speaking of which... it's getting late and my fiancee and I have a whole lot of catching up to do!" She stood and reached for her Taro's hand. "It's bed time, honey muffin!"

Her lover softly smiled, "I do believe you're right, my beautiful princess."

As the couple walked upstairs, Rei snickered, "Oyasumi, love birds. See you sometime tomorrow afternoon."

Minako looked over her shoulder and winked at the miko. "Maybe!"

After the young lovers had disappeared inside their bedroom and closed the door, Usagi laughed, "Minna, I can only _begin_ to imagine how exhausted Taro will be in the morning! Hehe! On second thought, I don't want to imagine that at all!"

Rei smirked, "Not unless you want to give yourself nightmares, Usagi-chan!"

A few seconds later, the teens faintly heard Minako's voice cry out from her upstairs bedroom.

" _Panzer Vor!"_

"Good grief!" Makoto cackled. "Poor Taro!" Beside her, Ami politely covered her giggle with her hand, her petite body quivering with supressed laughter.

"We really should retire soon too, my Ryo-kun" the blue-haired girl soon hinted with a coy smile. "Don't you agree?"

"Hai" he smiled tenderly at the love of his life. "We should." Without saying another word, Ryo swiftly clambered to his feet and escorted his fiancee toward the stairs.

"Go easy on the studying tonight, you two" Rei teased the couple.

Ami stopped at the first step and turned around, smiling sweetly at the miko. " _Studying_ , Rei-chan? That isn't what I have planned for us. Well... not exactly."

"No? Then what _do_ you have in mind, Ami-chan?"

Ami's coy smile crept bigger. "If I may quote Minako... hard and fast, Rei-chan. Hard... and... fast."

Ryo looked quizzically at his girl. "Hard and fast, Ami darling?" he puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out very soon, my Ryo-kun." She waved at the other teens. "Minna, good night!" The young couple hurried upstairs, leaving the three girls still sitting in the living room below them too stunned to speak.

. . . . .

After the last two couples had also gone upstairs, Usagi retrieved her pillow and blanket and made her temporary bed, spreading the thin covering over the now-empty sofa's cushions. She went to the kitchen for a glass of water, carrying it back to the coffee table.

"Nani? What's this? That wasn't there a minute ago."

Noticing a folded piece of paper jutting out from beneath the pillow, she slid it free and opened it. 'That's my handwriting! It has to be another note from future me!' she gasped. 'I'll tell the girls about it first thing in the morning.' She giggled, 'There's _no way_ I'm going to interrupt them now!'

Her eyes scanned the kana characters.

 _'I am very pleased with the Sailor Senshi's_ _performance during your visit to the other world._

_You overcame many obstacles and once more learned to work well together as a team._

_Minna, welcome home!'_

Further down the page, beneath another smiling rabbit face drawing, were the final words:

' _You have now been given twenty-four hours._

_This time.'_

" _Nani?"_ Usagi spoke aloud, rubbing her forehead in puzzlement. " _This time?_ What does _that_ mean? Who wrote this crazy confusing letter? Setsuna?"

The blonde shrugged, set the letter aside and crawled into bed, deciding the sofa felt cool enough to keep her robe on. She lay there, wondering what her friends from Ooarai were doing, and hoping all was well between the girls and their new boyfriends. Soon after, Usagi fell fast asleep.

. . . . .

**Epilogue:**

After an unforgettable Sunday and a well-earned two-day break from school, Nishizumi Miho hummed happily to herself as she prepared to go to bed. Thinking back on the previous three days spent dating her new boyfriend, she realized that Aino Minako had been completely right about her first kiss, and would most likely also be correct about her and her friends' future relationships with their new boyfriends as well. Miho thought, 'We really should all thank her again when we meet at school tomorrow!'

Smiling contentedly, with thoughts of her Yusei still filling her mind, she clicked off her bedside light, pulled the sheet up to cover her shoulders and closed her light brown eyes.

. . . . .

As the time neared three a.m., Miho began to stir and turned onto her left side. Her mattress oddly felt much firmer than usual and she pressed her slender fingers against it out of curiosity.

'Nani? This isn't a mattress. It's a tatami mat!'

Her eyes opened to find herself in completely unfamiliar surroundings. Though much of the strange room was quite dark, there was just enough illumination from a small glowing nightlight to see a coffee table, behind which was a large sofa, and beyond that a curved staircase ascending to the next floor. A few meters past her feet sat what appeared to be an old piano. Her eyes opened wider, her mind scarcely believing what was happening, then she turned to look to her right.

Four other tatami mats were neatly aligned on the hardwood floor beside hers, each occupied by a sleeping teenage girl. Miho instantly recognized the face of the nearest girl as Yukari's.

'I must be dreaming!' she thought. 'Hai, that _has_ to be it!' She shook her head, trying in vain to snap herself out of this imaginary fantasy world.

Miho sat up and nervously reached over to tap the girl beside her on her shoulder, whispering, "Yukari! Wake up!"

But then a familiar female voice from the sofa startled her. " _Who's there?"_ it hissed. "Ohh! I hope that evil mouse didn't come back again!"

A light clicked on to reveal Tsukino Usagi sitting up on the sofa, staring at her.

" _Miho-san?"_

" _Usagi-san?"_

Usagi promptly flung her bedsheet aside, leapt to her feet and hurried around the coffee table as the remaining four Ooarai girls began to awaken from their slumber.

"Ohayou!" Usagi grinned happily at Miho. " _Now_ I know what the last part of that letter meant!"

Totally perplexed, Miho asked, " _Usagi-san, where are we? How did we all get here?"_

"Ohh boy!" Usagi giggled. "Do I ever have a lot of explaining to do!" As Saori, Yukari, Hana and Mako sat up, peering at one another in utter bewilderment, Usagi announced,

"Minna, welcome to Nerima!"

. . . . . . . . . .

Note: The next story in my series is a follow-up to this one entitled 'Friends Forever', and continues immediately after 'Twist of Fate'.


End file.
